• Author Huh Youngman  
• Publisher Gimm-Young Publishers
• 27 volumes

<Sikgaek>, a work serialized from 2002 to 2010 by author Huh Youngman, is the most representative cartoon based on Korean food. <Sikgaek>, comprising a total of 27 volumes, was made into a drama series and a movie due to the original work’s sensational popularity. <Sikgaek>, which is said to have taken three years to produce, is also a cartoon based on realistic and accurate information. With “Sungchan,” who delivers seasonal ingredients and “Kim Jinsoo,” a magazine reporter, as the main characters, it deals with various Korean dishes that they see while traveling around the country. Though the main protagonists and many relevant people appear, the main character of this work is “Korean food.” This is because, at the center of each episode, the ingredients and food from all over the country are featured. In the process of telling the story, the ingredients, recipes, and historical background of the subject food are introduced in detail, so there are often people who say that they learned more about Korean food that they didn’t know well before through this body of work. 

• Authors Moon Eunjoo, Gwak Gihyuk
• Publisher Studio Dolgoji
• 3 volumes

It is an educational and learning cartoon that discusses the culture and history of Korean food. It was completed in 2020 in a total of three volumes. Since 2021, it has been produced as a web animation, and one episode at the end of each month is released via YouTube by its publisher, Studio Dolgoji. Currently, Season 1 has been completed with a total of 5 episodes. In the cartoon <Yum Korean Food Story>, a total of 59 types of Korean food were introduced, and it provides accurate knowledge on Korean food under the supervision of KFPI. It is a good introductory book on Korean food for children and foreigners who are not familiar with Korean food since it deals with not only traditional Korean food, but also various Korean foods that have emerged recently. Moreover, a map showing where the food that appears in each episode started and a mini-game about food are also included, thus providing good entertainment.

•Author Chae Jungtaek, Illustration: Kim Uijung
•Publisher Gobooki Books
•3 volumes

<Mr. Kimchi>, as the title suggests, is a cartoon about kimchi. It is a story about Howard, a Korean-American with a Korean mother and an American father; Garcia, the son of a prestigious Italian family and Howard’s secretary; Miyuki, the daughter of the CEO of Japan’s Daiken Group; and Oh Yisun, who works as a kimchi researcher at Oh’s Kimchi, as all characters become intertwined with kimchi as the medium. Various types of kimchi appear in the cartoon, from the 350-year-old Korean traditional kimchi in the clan house to the kimchi from a kimchi factory. At the end of each volume, the recipes and photos for making delicious kimchi are included, providing meaningful information to readers interested in kimchi.

• Author Han Hyeyeon
• Series available on Kakao Page

<Sehwa, On the Way>, a series that started on Kakao Page, is a cartoon about temple food. The main character, Sehwa, who was living every day with a sense of loss and guilt after a loved one has suddenly passed away, attends a banhonje(a memorial service to bring the spirit of the dead home) held at Sehwasa Temple, a temple with the same name as hers. Sehwa, who visits the temple every weekend where her lover’s memorial table is enshrined, and makes and shares temple food with people, begins to recover slowly from the pain in her heart in the process. <Sehwa, On the Way> plans to introduce various temple dishes that are made with seasonal ingredients over a period of one year. If you are curious about temple food, you will meet many different temple foods, such as beoseot deulkkaejuk(mushroom perilla porridge), naengyiguk(shepherd’s purse soup), mindeullae kimchi(dandelion kimchi), ssukbeomuri(mugwort rice cake), chopail bibimbap(Buddha’s birthday bibimbap), etc.

• Author Hwakcheongeum, Illustration: Lee Nayi
• Series available on Kakao Page

It is a work that is published serially on Kakao Webtoon. It is mainly about Korean food and Korean folktales. The main character, the white heron, is a medium and a cook, making food for the gods at a price. <Baekro Restaurant> is basically a reinterpretation of Korean myths, and the main character, Baekro, leads the story through the presentation of various traditional Korean dishes. In the process, the history of Korean food and traditional recipes contained in old recipes are introduced in detail. As many Korean folktales appear as well as many old stories told with Korean food, it is a very meaningful work that enables you to learn about our culture, such as our food and our folktales.